


Here They Come Again

by 3988Akasha



Series: Chicago [3]
Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 12:46:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/849728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3988Akasha/pseuds/3988Akasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Tom Neville brings Danny Matheson back to Philadelphia, but doesn't exactly get a heroes welcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here They Come Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dragomir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragomir/gifts), [ElDiablito_SF](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElDiablito_SF/gifts), [Timid_Timbuktu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timid_Timbuktu/gifts), [Steph_Schell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steph_Schell/gifts).



> You guys have been so supportive of this!

Bass worked hard to hide his nervousness. A runner had informed them that Captain Neville was on his way in with the prisoner. In the weeks since Miles and Rachel's…conversation, she'd been less and less helpful. While Miles had refused to let Strausser work on getting some answers from her, Bass could see the strain it was causing him. Bass looked over at Miles who looked too calm for it to be authentic. When they'd received word that Neville was on his way, Miles had taken extra pains with his uniform, which under normal circumstances would have made Bass laugh because normally, Miles didn't care. These were far from normal circumstances.

Miles hid himself in the far corner of the room and Bass shook his head. He didn't know how this would play out, and nothing he'd done in the past few days had made Miles anymore conversant about it. Bass wondered if Miles knew what he was going to do. There was a swift knock on the door before they swung open and Captain Neville escorted Danny Matheson into the room. Bass pushed off from the desk and walked forward to greet them.

"Danny Matheson. It’s good to see you again.”

The boy didn’t say anything, but Bass could read the curiosity on his face.

 “I knew your father," Bass said, pleased his voice was even. "I'm sorry for what happened. That was never my intent. You look like your mother, though."

Danny’s eyes were carefully blank when they met his. He may look like Rachel, but he had the Matheson bearing.

"You knew my mother?"

Bass nodded, unsure of what else to say. "While you're here, you're my guest. Anything you want, just ask."

Danny gave him a sad smile, one that looked eerily like Miles', but didn’t say anything.

Bass looked over his shoulder when he heard movement behind him. Miles has moved out from wherever he’d been hiding.  Bass enjoyed the look on Tom's face more than he expected to. The man shifted his weight nervously and swallowed thickly, eyes wide as silver dollars. Bass knew Miles was enjoying the moment, could tell by the way he smiled at Tom. It wasn't friendly, but it was satisfied.

"G-general Matheson," Neville managed. "I didn't know you'd returned."  

"There are a lot of things you don't know, Tom."

"You're Uncle Miles?" Danny asked.

"Yeah."

"Sir," Neville said, carefully not looking at Miles. "About the mess with Ben Matheson -"

"Mess?" Miles interrupted.

"I never meant for the man to die," Neville snapped.

Miles raised an eyebrow and Neville seemed to catch himself, his whole face draining of color.

Bass glanced between the two men, feeling the tension ricochet. "Tell me how my order to bring Ben in alive ended with him dead and his son standing in front of me."

Bass wanted to know the whole story, but he really just wanted to give Miles a chance to collect himself. He'd seen Miles' hand move closer to his sword the moment Neville had started talking.

Neville nodded, appearing to collect himself. It amazed Bass a bit, really. Knowing how similar Miles and Tom were, their mannerisms, the way they held themselves, even under less than ideal situations. In many ways, Tom was Miles' protégé. They'd taken an instant liking to each other, both admiring the skills of the other, and Tom had been eager to learn everything Miles had to teach. If Bass had to guess, he'd say Tom used to one of the people Miles trusted the most. He doubted it would ever be the same again. It made him a bit sad, thinking about how things would never be like they were, how things would always be slightly broken, slightly dirty, their choices and the consequences of their choices haunting them all for the rest of their lives. It wouldn't matter how much they tried to move on, how much they forgave each other, the echoes of their past would still linger in the air between them.

Bass closed his eyes slowly as he heard Neville’s explanation. It was worse than he'd thought; he'd been secretly hoping the boy had shot first, making the militia’s response reactionary.

"Ben was actively trying to get Danny to put the weapon down?" Miles asked as though the boy wasn't in the room.

"I believe he was."

"Was he or wasn't he?"

"He was."

Miles moved until he was nose-to-nose with Neville. "Then why didn't you shoot the soldier who'd raised his weapon?"

"Sir?"

"You shoot the man who put the objective in the line of fire."

"Sir, I - "

"No, Captain. You didn't. I trained you better than this. Or, are you suddenly incapable of following orders?"

"It was a mistake."

Miles snorted. He walked to the door and whispered something to the guard there. It was silent and tense as the man ran off to do whatever it was Miles had told him to do. After a few minutes, Jeremy came into the room, looking between Miles and Neville, a slightly impish look on his face. Bass knew there was no love lost between the two, but they'd always managed to be professional with each other, while vying for the attention of the Generals. It was childish, but so long as it didn't interfere with their duties, Bass decided to let them have their fun.

"Captain Baker," Miles addressed Jeremy formally, which threw everyone off balance. "I understand you've wanted to head up Intelligence and Investigations. It's yours."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don’t thank me yet. Captain Neville will be working directly under you. He is to take his orders from you; any failure to do so is to be reported to me immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Jeremy answered, voice full of shock.

Miles turned to Neville. "You will remain here in Philadelphia. You're relieved of your current duties, Captain. You've just been reassigned to Captain Baker's unit."

Neville took a stumbling step back. "For how long, sir?"

Miles' eyes flashed and his hand tensed on the hilt of his sword. "Until I'm convinced you're able to follow the most basic of orders."

"Yes, sir."

"Jeremy," Miles said, "Escort Danny to his room." Miles turned to Danny. "If you need anything, ask the guard. It's not prison, not quite. Once you get settled, you can roam more. I'll come see you later."

"And my mom?"

"She’s not ready to see you yet. Wash yourself up, have a decent night’s sleep in a real bed. She’ll still be here tomorrow."

Tom turned to leave, no doubt to go report his current _assignment_ to his wife. Bass hoped she took it well, focused on the positives and didn’t try anything foolish. The woman was sharp and reminded him of a snake, coiled and just waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Stay, Captain,” Miles told Tom, who stiffened, but did as he was told.

“Yes, sir?”

“Relax, Tom,” Miles said as he poured himself a drink. He raised the decanter in silent offer, Tom refused. “I need to know your honest opinion of Danny’s capabilities. I want to bring him in…he is family.”

Tom clasped his hands behind his back. “He is a spirited young man, one not easily broken. He did shoot a man and never showed any signs of regret. And he’d’ve killed me with his bare hands if he’d had the opportunity.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t try to kill you,” Bass said.

Tom smiled. “He did have an opportunity to kill me, indirectly. We ran into a storm and a beam fell on me. The whole place was going to come down on top of us, and he could have let me die. He could have run off and left me there, but he didn’t. He saved me.”

“Why in the hell would he do that?” Miles asked.

“I manipulated him. I didn’t want to die, and I knew he was impressionable enough that I could use his innocence against him. Asked him what his daddy would think about him just leaving a man there to die. I must have been correct because he helped me from the building.”

Miles smirked, but it was bitter and broken. Bass didn’t like the shadows he saw gathering in Miles’ eyes.

“The boy’s fearless, General Matheson,” Tom said with a note of pride in his voice. “He did get a chance to take a good swing at me. The men and I were boxing, none of them were willing to really give it to me, but Danny. Danny wasn’t going to hold back, and he didn’t. Landed a solid blow, one that with a bit of training, would have made the fight a bit more even.”

“Good. That’s good. I want him to start tomorrow. Place him with someone you trust to make this work,” Miles paused and looked directly at Tom. “He will become a member of this militia, Tom.”

Tom swallowed thickly. “Yes, sir.”

Miles nodded. “Dismissed.”

Bass waited until Tom left before turning to face Miles. He took in the rigid lines of his shoulders, the way his eyes refused to focus on any one spot, the way his hand kept clenching and unclenching on his sword.

“I thought the idea was to punish Tom, not Jeremy,” Bass remarked mildly.

He saw a slight twitch on Miles’ face as he fought a full smile.

“Or, did you do it because he hit you?”

Miles turned to face him, confusion clearly written on his face.

“No, Bass. I let Jeremy hit me because I knew you wouldn’t. And, like he said, I had it coming,” Miles paused. “Short of killing Tom, which would be satisfying, but reckless, I couldn’t think of a better punishment. Plus, I figured Jeremy would be happy to not be running border patrols for a while.”

Bass nodded. As usual, Miles’ actions and choices were dominated by the logic that ruled his life. It would be foolish to kill Tom, even if it would have been satisfying, but even so, the feeling would have been short lived. By forcing Tom and Jeremy to work together, by making Tom Jeremy’s subordinate, Miles could enjoy Tom’s discomfort for a long time. Since both men wanted the job and both men were more than qualified for it, it made perfect sense for them both to have it.

“Don’t let him hit you again, Miles. You – we – can’t move forward if you keep letting other people punish you, if you keep punishing yourself. We can’t change the past, we can’t fix it.”

Miles poured himself a drink and tossed it back. “Any word from Strausser?”

Bass knew the conversation was over, but knew Miles was still blaming himself, blaming him, blaming Tom. He could see the darkness lurking in his eyes. Maybe he’d try again later, maybe when it wasn’t so fresh – the information so new, maybe then Miles would be more willing to listen to him, to believe him. He’d keep trying.

“According to Strausser Mia is en route to Philly. She should be here within the next couple of weeks.”

“Good.”

"I also had an update from young Neville. They are making good progress and should be here in about a week."

“That’s good,” Miles commented absently. He walked over to the window, staring out at something Bass could never determine. Miles did that a lot once they’d settled in Philly. He’d just stand at the window and stare into the distance.

Bass wanted to go to him, wanted to put his hands on Miles’ shoulders and offer silent support for whatever was going on in his head, but something was holding him back. Their truce, their alliance, their _togetherness_ was somehow still too fragile. Bass had never been unsure about Miles, never felt so off balance…and, he didn’t like it.

“I could still kill him,” Miles said. “If he fails with Danny, I will.”

It caught Bass off guard and he didn’t know what to say, but it wasn’t a rhetorical statement. It felt almost like Miles was testing him, pushing the boundaries of his position. Bass made a face, as if there _were_ any boundaries to Miles’ position. This was exactly why Bass didn’t just to go Miles, hold him in his arms because they were still on uneven ground.

“We both know that would be a foolish mistake, but I won’t stop you, Miles, you know that.”

It must have been the right thing to say because Miles nodded and turned to face him.

“Tom won’t fail. He knows how important this is.”

 

Bass loved waking up in Miles’ arms. They’d gone to bed at different times last night, or early this morning, it was hard to tell sometimes. It happened like that most nights, Miles would stumble into bed late and sprawl on his side of the bed, but by morning, his arms would be wrapped securely around Bass. He wanted to tell Miles that it was okay to just wrap his arms around him from the beginning, but he didn’t. Miles needed to do this on his own; Bass wasn’t going to force Miles to do anything because he couldn’t risk Miles running away again.

“What?” Miles barked.

Bass hid his smile in the sheets. He knew exactly what Miles looked like, eyes still closed, a snarl on his face, and the poor man by the door was wishing he’d not drawn the short straw. Everyone knew how Miles was in the morning and early morning messages were usually used as a form of hazing for the newly branded, or as punishment for those who needed a _gentle_ reminder.

“There’s a problem, sir.”

“I hope for your sake it’s a big problem,” Miles continued.

“It’s the boy, he’s tried to escape.”

That had Miles’ full attention and Bass wanted to throw something at the boy because he had been comfortable and warm, but now Miles was up and out of the bed. No doubt eager to go and fix whatever it was…and they both knew who “the boy” was. Only one person could try to make a run for it and be brought back in alive, well, and only one person would be important enough to wake up the General. Danny should feel special.

“Where’s he being held?”

“They have him in the prison.”

Miles swore under his breath as he pulled on his uniform. “Have him brought here, along with those responsible for his escape…and his recovery.”

The young boy stood in the doorway, awkwardly.

“NOW!”

“Is Rachel awake yet?”

“Probably,” Bass replied as he slid from the bed. As much as he wished otherwise, they were up and had things to do. Plus, the bed wasn’t warm anymore.

“Have her ready. And tell him to bring Captain Neville in. I want him here when Danny gets back.”

Bass nodded. He loved watching Miles in command, making decisions, barking commands. Even if it was at him. He gave the orders to the young man standing outside the door. When they’d first started having guards outside his quarters, Bass had tried learning their names, but they kept changing too quickly for him to keep up, so he quit.

When he turned back, Miles was fully dressed, swords against his hip, Colt against his thigh. He looked imposing. Bass fought down the urge to rip off his clothes and demand to be fucked until he didn’t know his own name.

“Stop looking at me like that, Bass.”

Man was a fucking mind reader. Bass pouted, but went about putting the rest of his uniform on and if he copped a couple of feels here and there, well no one could blame him. There was one moment when he grabbed Miles’ ass and before he could even move away, he found himself pinned against the wall with Miles’ tongue halfway down his throat. Not that he objected, but it was just enough to have him hard, and normally that would be fine because Bass knew the knowing smirk that would typically be on Miles’ lips, a promise of more to come. But today, there was almost an apology in his eyes, almost _regret_.  

A sharp knock pulled him from that line of thinking. He’d just adjusted the sword when Miles went to open the door. Danny was standing between two men, his eyes full of the all too familiar Matheson fury. He didn’t appear to be injured which was nice because it meant no one was going to die.

“Danny,” Miles began. “I’m glad you’re back.”

They waited in silence for Captain Neville and the rest of the men Miles had requested to make their way to the room. Miles and Danny were staring at each other in a silent battle of wills that Bass found more amusing than the situation probably warranted but he’d witnessed his share of Matheson family stare offs before, and he was pretty sure Miles would be surprised by Danny. Not many could withstand prolonged exposure to the stare, but the boy was holding his own fairly well.

They broke eye contact when Captain Neville and a troupe of four other men came into the room.

“What in the hell happened?” Miles asked.

No one was stupid enough to pretend they didn’t know what was going on, which was good.

“Sir, Captain Neville had him standing night watch with the Officer of the Guard and things were going well, so he was left alone for a few minutes while the men refilled their coffee and took a piss. When we returned, the boy was gone. We called for support and went off after him. He hadn’t made it very far, but it disrupted the whole shift.”

“What is SOP for being on watch, Lieutenant?” Miles asked.

The man flinched because everyone knew the answer to the question.

“Two men are to be on watch at all times, sir.”

“Then why would you leave a new recruit alone during his first shift on watch?”

The lieutenant shifted nervously under Miles’ scrutiny. “He is your nephew, sir. We thought it would be okay.”

“My nephew or not, there is never a reason to break SOP while on night watch in the Capital. I will leave any further discipline to Captain Neville’s discretion. You’re dismissed.”

The young lieutenant ran out of the room, the three others following him.

“I expect a full report, Captain.”

“General.”

Bass was happy to see that both Miles and Tom were being civil and were continuing to work together as well as could be expected. There was still a bit too much hostility in the way Miles said _captain_ , but the man was responsible for Ben’s death and that wouldn’t ever change.

“Where were you going to go?” Miles asked once they were alone.

Danny didn’t answer.

“It doesn’t make any sense. Ben’s dead, running away from here isn’t going to fix that. Charlie is on her way here and your mother is already here. Any way you look at it, your _family_ is here. So, tell me, just where in the hell were you going to go?”

“Why am I here? Why’s Charlie coming here? You’re not exactly going to let us leave when we get here. This is a prison – _Uncle Miles_.”

Miles nodded. “You’re right.”

When Miles walked to the door, Bass opened his mouth, but shut it when he realized he didn’t know what he was going to say. Miles opened the door and made a hand gesture to Danny.

“Go.”

Danny took a couple of steps towards the door before stopping, looking up at Miles with questions in his eyes.

“Killing Tom Neville won’t bring Ben back,” Miles said. “And all the family you’ve got left in the world is here, or coming here. But, go, if that’s what you want.”

“And my mother? Can she leave, too?”

Miles smiled and licked his lips as he closed the door. He gestured for everyone to sit while he went to pour himself a cup of coffee. Bass didn’t know how Miles was going to answer the question because how do you to tell someone you’ve been holding their mother prisoner for _years_? Danny didn’t sit, but Miles didn’t press it.

“She came to me, you know. When she left you and Charlie and your dad. She came here. When I left,” Miles paused, his eyes closing as he pursed his lips. “When I left, I offered to take her with me. To take her back to her family, but she didn’t want to leave. She stayed here.”

Danny finally sat down heavily in the nearest chair. Miles held out a second cup of coffee which Danny took numbly, eyes wide and unfocused. Miles exchanged a look with Bass, but Bass wasn’t entirely sure what he was trying to say. It wasn’t a complete lie, not all of it. But, it did leave out some of the details. Danny had lost enough; maybe the details were irrelevant now. No one needed to know that Ben refused to come join them in the capital. Danny didn’t need to know how broken Miles and Ben’s relationship had become after the blackout.

“Why wouldn’t she come back?”

“I don’t know, but she’s here now and Charlie’s going to be here soon. You can see them both, unless you’re still thinking about leaving.”

Danny shook his head, eyes focused on his toes.

“Good. I’ll have Neville’s men come get you later. After lunch.”

“I’m going to kill him.”

Danny looked up at Miles and Bass was stunned by how similar they looked. He knew the steely gaze, the unemotional, unflinching eyes. Miles finished the rest of his coffee and met Danny’s eyes.

“Good.”

Danny stood and walked to the door, he paused in the doorway and looked back at Miles and an entire conversation passed between the two of them. Bass would never quite understand it all, something about the way Matheson’s communicated in silence. It was something he’d seen Ben and Miles do for years, especially when they were upset with each other. In the year or so before the blackout, most of their conversations were a silent exchange of looks.

“He’s Ben’s son.”

“You know he’s going to try and kill Tom.”

“He was always going to do that.”

“You’re going to let him?”

Miles looked at Bass with that same dead look in his eyes. “I’m not going to stop him.”


End file.
